BOGOTA - Thousands of former fighters from Colombia’s largest rebel group remain committed to the historic 2016 peace deal which ended more than five decades of civil conflict, but attacks against the ex-combatants have been a continuous cause for concern, the Security Council heard on Thursday. 

Despite the announcement by some FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) leaders in August of a return to the battlefield, in the face of what they see as Government betrayal, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the UN Mission’s Special Representative, said “it is important to emphasize the commitment of these former combatants to the peace process.”

Ex-guerrillas face major challenges in their reintegration. More than 8,000 former combatants living outside former rebel-controlled areas have limited access to key resources, and thus, become vulnerable to violence and recruitment by illegal armed groups.